Curing Love Sickness
by bullsh.t
Summary: AU. NxM. Slight OOC. Natsume Hyuuga is smart, cold, athletic, and a possessor of good looks It's too bad he thinks girls are annoying and love is a bother therefore he's determined to go through high school avoiding both of them. When he's asked to tutor ditzy, cute, and sunny Mikan Sakura, what will become of his opinions on the two things he lives to steer clear of?
1. Part 1

**July 30th, 2012 - **Revised and edited.

* * *

**Curing Love Sickness  
**_Inspired by the one-shot manga, Celeste Blue._

* * *

It was an average day at Alice Academy for Natsume Hyuuga... or so he thought until noon approached the school day and he was called by his math teacher to come over to his office. He was greeted by Jinno-sensei's face when he entered the room and another face of a smiley girl whom he recognized from the homeroom next door.

"Thank you for coming, Hyuuga." Jinno nodded in acknowledgement at the boy before introducing the main topic. "This girl is from class 1-B," He gestured to the girl beside him. "She's not doing particularly as well as I hope for her to in mathematics." Jinno frowned at the girl while she sheepishly grinned in slight embarrassment.

Natsume inwardly grimaced. He could see where this conversation was going. Jinno was going to ask him to give her after-school tutoring sessions. He did not want to

"I'm sorry to ask you of this but if Sakura continues as she is with my maths class, then she won't be able to move up the next grade," Jinno furrowed his eyebrows. "Alice Academy believes in having a one hundred percent graduation rate and we intend to keep it like that."

"I understand." Natsume said.

"You are one of the model students for first years and also the top in my class so you were the first one to come to mind. I hope you can become Sakura's math tutor until the end of the year or at least until she won't need it anymore."

Natsume nodded stiffly at his teacher in compliance. Jinno was a teacher you couldn't refuse unless you wanted to get on his bad side. _'Great. I have to spend my afternoons from now on with this girl.' _Natsume thought sarcastically.

Mikan beamed happily at the stoic faced boy. "Nice to meet you, Natsume Hyuuga! My name is Mikan Sakura! Jinno-sensei told me all about you, please take care of me."

Natsume only stared at her in response. _'...How does she smile all the time like that?'_

Jinno patted Natsume's back in relief and wished him good luck, "I'm counting on you, Hyuuga," He smiled. "Don't worry, I'll bump your grade up for the final reports at the end of the year."

* * *

"So you're going to tutor one of the cutest girls in our year level, eh?" Koko asked as he dribbled his basketball beside Natsume.

"Sure." He replied as he shot a basket. Admiring girls who were watching the basketball team cheered for them and Natsume furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance at the high pitched squeals.

"What kind of reply is _"sure"_? I'm not asking if you want to get ice-cream with me, Natsume!" Koko raised a brow in curiosity.

From what Natsume knew about Mikan Sakura, she was always with her chatty group of friends. Among them, she was the loudest and the one who received the most attention from others. With the way Natsume's friends occasionally talked about her, she seemed well-liked by boys and her friends alike. Whenever he went to the library to study in peace, he would see her on rare occasions being repetitively shushed by the librarian. To put it bluntly, Natsume did not like her any more than he did other girls. They were all annoyingly loud to him.

"Oh, right! You're helping Sakura-chan study for the upcoming exams." Mochu said while he collected the ball Natsume shot and dribbled it.

"You should plan a group date for us with her other cute friends!" Koko grinned like a Cheshire cat as he slapped Natsume a little too hard on the back.

Natsume glared in response while Koko bowed apologetically. "Forgive me, Natsume-sama!"

Coach Narumi blew his whistle and called everyone to sit over on the bench. "Hello my lovely munchie-poo-poos!" He sang. The basketball team simultaneously shivered in their seats and began to question Narumi's teaching degree.

"We're going to try something new today! If it works out, we'll use it as part of our warm up!" Narumi said.

"What's the new thing?" Koko asked with faint hesitation.

"Glad you asked, Koko-kun! Aerobics is the hottest thing right now so watch me as I put on music and demonstrate this new form of exercise!" Narumi smiled and winked at his students.

No one was actually up for watching Narumi do strange displays of movement and turned to pester Natsume on Mikan Sakura instead.

"Daaaaamn, I wish I was smart like Hyuuga or class prez to be able to tutor pretty girls like Sakura!" A fellow team member grinned.

"Tell me about it! But Natsume here isn't interested in dating girls in the first place." Koko chuckled.

"Then let's trade! I'll be Sakura-chan's tutor in your place!" Another boy smirked.

"Forget it, Nanami. You can't even remember your time tables up to 12, what makes you think could tutor Sakura-chan? Besides, you're probably going to spend the sessions trying to hit on her." Mochu snickered.

"What's so good about getting to help that dimwitted girl study?" Natsume asked in annoyance.

Koko, Mochu, and the rest of the team looked at Natsume as if lemonade had shot out from his ears.

"You're one of a kind, Natsume." Koko chuckled and the rest of the team joined in. Natsume rolled his eyes in response and begrudgingly focused his attention on Narumi doing aerobics.

* * *

When the last bell rang to signal the end of the day, Natsume and Mikan were already in her empty homeroom class to begin studying. The brunette was barely paying any attention to reading the text books in front of her. Natsume was introducing the current topics that she was learning in class but his words went through one ear and out the other.

"Studying is hard." Mikan groaned as she crossed her legs.

"You've barely even started." Natsume said, "I doubt you're even listening to me." He creased his eyebrows in annoyance and flicked her forehead.

"Ouchie!" Mikan rubbed her forehead and pouted, "I'm not as smart as you, Natsu-sensei."

Natsume brushed off the nickname and crossed his arms. "All you have to do is look at me and listen."

Completely ignoring Natsume's words once again, Mikan lit up in her seat. "Hey, sensei! I have a question!" Mikan raised her hand up as if she was in class with a determined look on her face.

Sensing the new serious aura she emitted, Natsume nodded his head for her to go ahead and ask the question.

"How do you cure love sickness?" Her eyes sparkled ready to concentrate on her tutor's answer.

An unamused Natsume stayed silent and stared at the girl in front of him, unmoving. Breaking the brief silence and puzzlement, Mikan grinned and said "I just wanted to ask someone smart like Natsu-sensei because I couldn't think of the answer by myself."

Ignoring Mikan, he averted his eyes to his text book. "Turn to page 158 where you will see several formulas..."

Mikan blinked at her tutor and then giggled. "You just brushed off my question way too fast!" The now curious Mikan fixed her gaze on Natsume with complete inquisitiveness. "Hey! Do you have a girlfriend, Natsu-sensei?"

Natsume found it weird how her attention was now easily focused on his love life rather than the math work before them. "I bet you do have one! Even though Natsu-sensei doesn't talk much and has a reserved atmosphere around him, he seems like a very nice guy!" Mikan smiled at him.

Natsume's calm composure faltered for a second and his eyes widened slightly. _'I've been called stuff like "composed", "reasonable", and "silent" but I've never been called "nice"_ before...' He thought silently.

Before he could reply, a sudden deep voice drifted through the room. "How's Mikan-chan doing in studying so far?" It asked.

Mikan's head whipped around to the door and brightened at the intruder. "Ruka-pyon!"

The blonde laughed and walked towards the desk Natsume and Mikan were at. Mikan then faced Natsume, "This is my childhood friend, Ruka Nogi!"

The said boy smiled gently and shook hands with the stoic boy.

"Sorry about Mikan-chan over here. She never studies which is why she's immensely naive." Ruka put his arm around Mikan and grinned. "Despite that though, she's a good girl! It's pretty hard to get her to stop smiling all the time. She's so positive, she'd scream at the sky to stop if it was raining." He laughed.

A rosy tint spreaded across Mikan's cheeks which Natsume did not fail to notice. She pouted and lightly glared at the blonde, "I'm not _that_ naive!" She argued.

A smile then made its way to her face as she giggled and Natsume found himself noticing her blush again. "Though I agree that I'd scream at a raining sky to stop and bring out the sun." Mikan said.

Natsume propped an arm over the table and leaned on his palm as he observed Mikan's blushing face and Ruka laughing. '_It's so obvious...'_ He thought. He inwardly shook his head and groaned, _"It's none of my business. I'm not going to concern myself with her and Nogi."__  
_

* * *

Four days had passed since Natsume was introduced to Mikan's childhood friend. Natsume was putting his outdoor shoes on when he heard the familiar loud voice of a perky brunette. "Natsu-sensei!" It called happily.

Natsume stared blankly at the girl, waiting for her to catch up to him before they started walking together. "Could you stop calling me that?" He asked.

Mikan placed a finger to her chin and initiated a thinking pose, "What would you like to be called then? Natsu-chi? Nattie-chan? Hyuu-Hyuu?"

Natsume grumbled at all her nicknames. "Just call me Hyuuga."

"If I call you 'Hyuuga', it will feel like we're strangers!" She pouted.

Natsume disregarded what Mikan said and got to the point, "Have you brought the books and materials I told you to take?" He asked.

Mikan gave her tutor a thumbs up and a smile as she pointed to her school bag. She then realized they weren't heading to their usual destination for their study sessions in her homeroom class. "Where are we headed, Natsu-sensei?"

"Up." He replied.

Mikan gave him a questioning look as they reached the door to the roof. "Why are we here today?" She asked.

"I thought a loud and jumpy girl like you would study better in an environment like this." Natsume closed the door behind them as Mikan picked a spot to lie down.

"Wow! This is the best, Natsu-sensei! It's my first time being up here!" She smiled.

Natsume set his bag down and pulled out the sheets he got from Jinno, "Let's finish this quickly, I have basketball practice later."

Mikan lifted herself back up and sat properly next to Natsume. "Thanks, Natsu-sensei." She chirped with a toothy smile.

"Just thought you'd like being outside better than in." Natsume replied.

"No, not for taking me up here!" Mikan laughed. "It's because I know that you have a big basketball game this weekend with Alice Academy's biggest rival team but you're STILL taking an hour out of practice to help me study!"

Natsume's calm composure faltered for the second time in a week as he let out the only smile he gave a girl. A tiny smile at that but as the saying goes, "less is more." Mikan grinned in surprise. '_The first time I've ever seen Natsu-sensei smile!'_ She thought.

Natsume composed himself and proceeded to wave a piece of paper in front of the girl, "So here's today's assignment sheet."

The next hour passed with Mikan grumbling, cheering, and smiling. "I finally get this theorem! It feels so good to finally understand something in math." Mikan raised a fist in the air as she stared at Natsume's handwriting in awe.

"Good." Natsume said. "I have a worksheet from Jinno-sensei which you can work on tonight."

"Do you like studying, Natsu-sensei?" Mikan suddenly asked.

"I guess so. It's something that comes easily to me, I like knowing that there's always an answer to a problem." He replied honestly.

Mikan's eyes sparkled in a mix of admiration and awe at her tutor. "I have never heard words more true than what you have just said, Natsu-sensei!" Natsume merely blinked at the girl.

Mikan's expression then changed to one of deep in thought. "You know what, sensei?" she began, "I already knew that you were really smart, reserved, and a very popular subject among girls so I didn't know what type of person you would be at first..." She leaned her face on her arm in a thinking pose.

Natsume stared curiously at the girl in front of him.

"I feel like I really know what type of guy Natsume Hyuuga is now!" She giggled then looked at Natsume.

"I feel like I've gotten to know what type of idiot Mikan Sakura is." He said as he flicked her forehead a little gentler then he had on the first day he tutored her.

"Ouchieeee! I'll lose brain cells if you do that, sensei!" Mikan rubbed her forehead with a scowl.

"Natsume." He said quietly.

Mikan stared in question for a few moments before the scowl on her face faded and she grinned in understanding. "Natsume," She said his name properly for the first time and Natsume smiled that tiny rare smile at her.

"...and by the way, you say that you lose brain cells with every time I flick your forehead... but you can't lose what you don't have in the first place." He smirked.

"Go bald!" Mikan glowered at Natsume and smacked his shoulder with her notebook. Natsume found himself trying to contain his first howling laugh in a while.

That afternoon, Natsume had also realized two things. The first thing being just how beautiful of a girl like Mikan Sakura was and the second thing being that he had failed to avoid what he initially considered the most troublesome thing possible to ever do in high school.

He fell in love.

* * *

"How's the tutoring going, Natsume, my man?" Tsubasa asked as they entered the locker room. "I presume it's going good seeing as you decided to miss half of practice to help Mikan-chan study," He imitated Koko's 'slimy' grin. "Not only that... you also emitted a warm glow through all of practice."

Completely Tsubasa's teasing, Natsume finally shifted his gaze from tying his sneakers to his sempai, "Hn? Were you saying something?" Natsume asked.

Tsubasa spluttered and pointed an accusing finger at Natsume. "Were you not listening to me? Thanks. Just thanks. I loooooove being ignored when I'm talking to you!" He said sarcastically.

Tsubasa crossed his arms and went over to Natsume when he found his kouhai's attention wavering again. It was focused on a necklace in his palm. It had a pink jewel in the shape of a heart dangling from the silver chain. Tsubasa sweat dropped and decided as Natsume's friend and team mate, Natsume needed to hear the truth: "That looks like a girl's necklace, Natsume. Not that I have a problem with it if you like it, of course..." He rubbed the back of his head profusely.

Natsume rolled his eyes at his mistaken friend, "It's not mine." he said. "It probably belongs to Mikan."

"Oh," said Tsubasa in understanding. "Why do you have it?"

Natsume shrugged. "She must have took it off and put it in my bag by mistake." He then remembered something and turned to the star-cheeked teen, "What do you know about Ruka Nogi?" he asked.

Tsubasa blinked. It wasn't like Natsume to be interested in other people. "Well... I know that he's in the soccer club and has a girlfriend."

Realization dawned in Natsume's eyes and the question that Mikan had asked him popped into his mind. _"How do you cure love sickness?"_ At first Natsume thought it was just a mindless girl thing but now it wasn't like that anymore.

"Why do you ask?" Tsubasa prodded. "Could it be that you like Imai-san?"

"Who's Imai?" Natsume asked with genuine cluelessness.

Tsubasa sweat dropped. "Nevermind, that just answered my question," He said. "Hotaru Imai is Nogi's girlfriend."

* * *

**End of Part 1**

* * *

_Edit: _Okay! So I've gone up and revised this to make it a little better and honestly, I think it IS actually a lot better now so I hope the ones who previously favorited this will come back to read this part again. :)


	2. Part 2

I know it's been awhile but I've finally decided to write the next part to Curing Love Sickness! I'm sorry to those who were following this and were expecting part two ASAP! Originally, I was going to do it right after but I had a looooong ass case of writer's block. Anyways, without further ado, ENJOY! :)

* * *

**Curing Love Sickness  
**_Inspired by the one-shot manga, Celeste Blue_

* * *

After hearing the newfound information of Hotaru Imai and Ruka Nogi from Tsubasa, they both headed to the gym for basketball. Thirty minutes into the practice, Natsume found himself unable to focus and play as well as he usually did and he missed more than half of the baskets he shot at the hoop.

Narumi noticed this along with the rest of the team and he blew his whistle. The whole team stopped and gave their full attention to the coach. "Natsume-kun! Come here for a second. Koko, I want you to guide the team in the new aerobics routine I taught you!" He grinned.

"Aw, sweet!" Koko snickered and started doing wild hand motions with the team following him.

Natsume walked over to Narumi wondering why he was called, "What is it Naru?" He asked.

"Sup?" Narumi grinned.

Natsume stared at his coach. "Did you just ask me... 'sup'?"

"Yes, I did!" Narumi grinned again.

Natsume blinked. "Why?"

"For one to connect with his student, he must speak their language." Narumi tried to explain wisely.

Natsume began to inwardly question his coach's insanity. "Uh, no. Please. No."

Narumi waved his hand, "I was only kidding!" He laughed. "So is there anything bothering you, Natsume-kun?" Narumi then gave Natsume a concerned look.

Natsume blinked, "No." He replied.

Narumi leaned in closer and observed Natsume. He then nodded to himself like he understood what was going on. He gave Natsume a mischievous smile, "You're in love." He stated bluntly.

An almost visible blush warmed Natsume's cheeks and he tried to regain his composure unsuccessfully, "You're spouting shit, Naru." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Language," Narumi tutted Natsume and patted his back. "Are you in denial or are you just embarrassed to tell me? Just because I'm a teacher doesn't mean I once wasn't in high school! Now clearly say this out loud: 'I, Natsume Hyuuga, am in love with _blank_.' "

"You're kidding me." Natsume raised a defiant eyebrow at his psychotic coach.

"NATSUME'S IN LOVE?" The entire basketball team shrieked in utter shock. Narumi himself shrieked in shock as well. Natsume didn't shriek but his eyes widened as far as main course dinner plates.

"Why aren't you leading aerobics, Koko-kun? You all gave me a mini heart attack and I don't need any of those at this age!" Narumi shouted at Koko in a legitimately high-pitched shrill.

"I think you guys just cleared my arteries." Natsume glared at his team members but they remained unmoving.

"NATSUME'S IN LOVE?" They repeated.

Natsume was about to reply and defend himself but was cut off by his ever meddling coach.

"You bet your bippy Natsume's in love!" Narumi sang happily.

One of the guys gave Natsume a smirk. "I was beginning to think you were gay and I ⎯" He was cut off by the intensity of Natsume's glare that dared him to continue speaking.

"I'm so proud of our Lil Nat-Nat! Learning the beauty of women and all that is prettyful." Mochu wiped a fake tear from his eyes.

"Could it be little miss cutie pie Mikan Sakura? The one whom you've been gladly skipping bball practice for?" Koko waggled his eyebrows at Natsume.

"Shut up." Natsume glowered at Koko but failed pathetically.

Narumi let out a man-ish squeal. "I know Mikan-chan! She greets me every morning like a cute dove!" He sighed.

"Who would have ever thought that the infamous woman-hater, Natsume Hyuuga, would fall for one of the prettiest girls at the academy?" Tsubasa teased.

"Okay, alright, settle down team!" Narumi chuckled, "Now we have to focus on what's most important at the moment." A serious look suddenly crossed the coach's face and the team was silenced.

"What's most important is..." Narumi paused, "Has Natsume confessed to Mikan-chan?"

All of the team had contemplative and thoughtful expressions on their faces. Natsume was downright pissed but knew that it was too late to convince his team mates otherwise that he was not in love with a girl by the name of Mikan Sakura.

"What are you saying coach? He OBVIOUSLY hasn't confessed. This is like the first time Natsume has been interested in a girl. He's so reserved that I wouldn't be surprised if he was romantically awkward." Koko laughed and Mochu joined him.

Natsume rolled his eyes and they caught the clock near the entrance of the gym. "Hey, practice is over guys."

"Practice isn't over until you spill, Natsume!" The boys grabbed Natsume and sat him down on the bleachers.

Natsume rubbed his temples in irritation and lost it, he shot straight up out of his seat and glared daggers at every single member of team and Narumi let out a squeak.

"Look!" He grumbled. "Yes, I'm in love with Mikan Sakura. No, I haven't confessed. Yes, she already has feelings for someone. No, he doesn't like her back because he has a girlfriend." He took one big breath to regain all that he used for the long string of answers.

"The boy she likes doesn't like her back! You still have a chance, Natsume!" Koko lit up and beamed at his best friend with full support.

"Whatever," Natsume gave up and let the team think whatever they wanted to. "Can we just save this for another time? Tomorrow is going to be Saturday. That's when we have the big game against Noriaki Academy."

"Natsume-kun's right. Practice is over! Get a good night's sleep and come with lots of water bottles," Narumi grinned. "We can probe Natsume-kun AFTER we win the game against that jerk of a school!"

"YEAH!" The boys put their hands together and pumped their fists up in the air bent on winning.

* * *

**The day of the big game...**

The sun peeked through Natsume's curtains and into his eyelids. _"Ugh, I hate mornings." _He thought. Then he smiled when an event from the night before flooded his morning's thoughts. _"I texted her until we both fell asleep." _He smiled until he realized what he was doing and deemed himself stupid.

_"Maybe I should have invited her to the game. She probably has other plans anyway with Nogi or something." _He shoved the bitter thought out of his head and proceeded to get out of bed.

* * *

"Morning! How 'ya feeling, Natsume?" Koko put an arm around his best friend and gave him a cheeky grin. Natsume set his sports bag down and took off his coat.

"I'm good." He gave Koko a smile which froze him in a block of invisible ice.

"Holy shit. Did you just... like... smile at me?" Koko pinched himself, "Nope. I'm not dreaming."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "You're being creepy."

"You rarely smile! I usually see it in your eyes but never in where it should be! Your mouth!" Koko's eyes lit up and he gave Natsume a hug, "This must be the doing of Mikan! I MUST talk to this girl and make her my new buddy!"

Natsume peeled Koko's hands off of him, "If you keep acting creepy then I won't even let you get within five feet of her." He threatened.

Koko quickly held his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I got it, man."

The two teens left the locker room to find a pleasant surprise awaiting the both of them.

Mikan Sakura.

There she was in all her sparkling glory standing a few meters away from the gym entrance glancing from left to right. Perhaps she was looking for someone.

"Your girl's here!" Koko smirked.

Natsume was inwardly shocked with questions running through his mind. _"Who is she looking for? Is she here to see me? Is she with that childhood friend of hers?"_

His thoughts were interrupted by the very object of his thoughts, "Natsume! There you are, I was looking for you!" She smiled brightly at him and skipped towards the two boys.

Koko leaned in to whisper into Natsume's ear, "Wow. Forget cute or pretty. She's beautiful." He said.

"Yeah." Natsume absentmindedly replied.

Mikan noticed Koko and smiled up at him. "You're tall," She laughed.

Koko grinned and took her hand. "Nice to officially meet you, Mikan Sakura. I'm Kokoro Yome! Call me Koko!"

"I like your name," Mikan beamed. "Wait... how do you know mine?" She asked.

"Natsume told all of⎯" A hand muffled Koko from speaking and the owner of the hand shot a menacing look at him.

Natsume looked at the perky brunette and nodded in acknowledgement. Mikan was accustomed to his way of saying "hello" to her so she smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Natsume received a familiar warmth that Mikan always brought along with her.

Koko blinked at the both of them and smirked. "Come with me, Mikan," He took the said girl's hand and lead her to the bleachers inside the gym. "We have lots to discuss!"

Natsume stared after them. _"What the hell is Koko up to?"_ He could tell Koko was up to mischief when he used his sickeningly sweet voice that Natsume describes as "something Koko uses to hunt prey."

"Ah, you're here Natsume-kun!" Narumi greeted. "Go to Coach Misaki and ask for your basketball jersey. We put in orders for new ones before the season started and they came just in time for the game."

Natsume nodded and looked back at the gym entrance where Koko headed with Mikan. He sighed. _"I guess I'll just have to trust that he won't try to strip me of my pride."_

EXCITING GAME BLAH BLAH BLAH AWESOME KICK ASS SHOOTING AND DRIBBLING TIME SKIP TO AFTER THE GAME  
(Sorry, my bad! I don't think explaining this part is necessary xD)

* * *

"You were great, Natsume! I knew we would win!" Mikan chirped. "Natsu-sensei was my favorite player!"

"Thanks," He smiled and then realized something. "What did you and Koko talk about?"

"We just goofed around!" Mikan laughed and Natsume inwardly sighed in relief.

"He told me that Ruka-pyon and his girlfriend broke up," She started. Natsume's breath hitched. _"She's probably happy about that," _He grimaced.

Mikan continued, "And I wasn't pleased like I thought I would be..." Natsume looked at Mikan with slightly widened eyes.

"I thought you had feelings for your childhood friend." He said.

"I guess I lost them along the way to meeting you?" She laughed, "It looks I don't need to know how to cure love sickness anymore, sensei!"

Natsume grinned. "Yeah," He said.

* * *

**End of Part 2**

* * *

That took a whole lot longer than it usually does when I write a chapter so I hope that's a sign telling me that the more time you spend, the better it is... :D

As always, thank for adding this to your alerts or favorites and reviewing :)

Until next time! I'm certain that part three will be the last chapter so hold on tight because I'll definitely have it up within one week. Two weeks at most.

I'm gonna sleep now since I'm too tired to go through this before I post it so if you review, don't be afraid to tell me if I have any errors and things like that!


	3. Part 3

The final part to CLS :)

* * *

**Curing Love Sickness  
**_Inspired by the one-shot manga, Celeste Blue_

* * *

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE THE BEST, NATSU-SENSEI!" Mikan glomped Natsume which caused them both to collapse onto the ground in front of everyone, "I GOT AN 80 OUT OF 100 IN MATH!"

Natsume smiled slightly at the perky girl and patted her head. "Congratulations. Now could you maybe get off of me?"

Mikan became aware of the position they were in and blushed. She flusteredly stood up and grinned, "Three weeks of after school tutoring was what it cost and it was all worth it!" She beamed.

"Yeah," Natsume said absentmindedly while staring at the girl.

A rosey tint crawled up Mikan's cheeks as she recalled some things Koko had said to her at the Noriaki basketball game..._  
_

**Flashback**

_"So has Natsume been treating you well these past couple of days?" Koko asked._

_Mikan smiled. "Absolutely! I remember one time we were studying outside and it rained so he offered to continue the lesson at his home."_

_"Natsume offered?" Koko's eyes widened._

_"I guess it was more liked forced..." She laughed, "But it was still really nice of him. I didn't know Natsume was that kind!"_

_Koko stifled a laugh. "Did you know that you're Natsume's first friend who's a girl?"_

_Mikan's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"_

_"I kid you not," Koko held his hands up with a chuckle. "He actually smiles more frequently now too. I swear I still can't get used to it but I like it more than that stoic block of wood expression he has on all the time."_

_"It IS like a block of wood, isn't it?" Mikan laughed._

_"Right?" Koko guffawed, "It's so cute how he skips half of practice all the time to be with you!"_

_"He does?" Mikan's face heated up and somehow she felt like that information alone was all she needed to have a good day._

_"Oops, said too much. Have fun cheering on Natsume, Mikan!" Koko waved to Mikan as he got up and headed to Narumi._

**End of Flashback**_  
_

Mikan shook her head. _"Koko was probably exaggerating. He wouldn't take time from basketball to help me..." _She thought.

"Are you okay?" Natsume asked as he put a hand to Mikan's forhead. Mikan blushed and inwardly reprimanded herself to stop it.

Natsume took his hand off, "No fever." He said.

"Because I'm perfectly fine. I passed math and I'm ready to take on the world." She gave him a thumbs-up.

"Not so fast there. Say that again when you get a perfect score." Natsume smirked.

"Let's celebrate, Natsume! For my newfound smartness!" Mikan cheered.

"You just completely ignored me with ease."

"Do you want to celebrate or not?"

"Fine. I have to take responsibility for my student's best score she ever achieved after all."

Mikan laughed and tugged on Natsume's hand.

Natsume briefly remembered that day Mikan heard about her childhood friend's break up with Imai, _"It looks I don't need to know how to cure love sickness anymore, sensei!"_ was what she said.

_"You don't need to know anymore but I probably do."_ He thought to himself.

* * *

"The amusement park?" Natsume quirked an elegant brow when he took one look around at where they were. Balloons, cotton candy, distant screams and laughing, and people in costumes crowded the walkways.

"Yeah!" Mikan smiled. "Koko gave me two coupons as a present of passing my first math test. He told me that you loved amusement parks, too!"

"Ugh," Natsume groaned. "That meddling bastard."

"Did somebody refer to me?" As if on queue, Koko bounded up out from in between them and put an arm over Mikan, the other on Natsume.

"Koko! What are you doing here?" Mikan asked.

"Came to check up on my best friend and my cute kouhai, of course!" Koko smirked.

"Mikan's in our year and in YOUR class for that matter." Natsume said.

"Whatever," Koko laughed. "She's adorable, she's tinier than me, and she's a few months younger than us. Therefore she is my kouhai."

Natsume rolled his eyes in annoyance and Koko started pushing the pair to a ride.

"Now have fun you kids! Papa's got do some business!" Koko grinned like a proud father and when the two were out of sight, he calmy said the word "Howalon."

At that, two boys jumped out of trees and two others climbed out of bushes.

"Wow, you're a genius, Koko! You got them to go out together." Tsubasa crossed his arms and smirked.

"May I just ask why 'howalon' is the code word to hide and appear?" Yuu pulled a twig out of his glasses and brushed dirt off his shoulder.

"No you may not." Koko held a hand out for Kaname to put binoculars in.

"Isn't it wrong for us to come here and stalk them?" Kaname asked.

"It's fine! If you want to go home, then go but just know that while you sit there all alone, you COULD be at the amusement park watching Natsume bend over backwards for Mikan." Koko shrugged.

"I hate it when you're condescending." Kaname frowned.

"So is he going to confess today?" Mochu asked.

"Who knows? By the looks of it, he's the type of guy to never do it unless she does it first." Koko looked through the binoculars and found his primary targets on the teacup ride (**A/N: You all know this ride, right? ^_^**). Natsume was keeping on a stoic front and spinning the wheel while Mikan tried her hardest to sit properly.

"But we're going to make sure that doesn't happen!" Tsubasa said triumphantly.

* * *

"That was killer, Natsume! I felt like my head untwisted itself off of my neck." Mikan mumbled.

"I didn't feel a thing." Natsume smirked.

Mikan glared at him. "Because you were the one spinning the wheel!"

Natsume wasn't paying attention anymore when he spotted a boy from afar. He was wearing a beanie with spikey hair poking out. _"Hell no, it's Andou. So this is what Koko meant by 'business.' "_ He furrowed his brows._  
_

"Let's ride that big one!" Mikan's eyes lit up and Natsume's attention turned back to her. She grabbed Natsume's hand. "Do you like rollercoasters, Natsume?"

"I've never ridden one before." He shrugged.

"What? That settles it! We're riding it and then I'll buy one of those photos they take when you ride them." Still holding onto his hand, Mikan quickened their pace and lined up.

"It looks like it will be about 10 to 15 minutes until our turn," Mikan pouted.

"I'll be right back," Natsume muttered as he caught Koko waving maniacly at him from behind a trash can.

* * *

"Caught his attention," Koko said.

"I thought the plan was to _not_ let him notice us." Yuu sweatdropped.

"No, Iinchou. We want him to know we're here so that we can help him. At least that's what Koko told me." Mochu answered.

"Correct. We'll be like Natsume's fairy godfathers!" Koko grinned. "Here he comes!"

Natsume was not amused and his lips were set in a straight thin line. "You brought the team with you?"

"Only Tsubasa-senpai, Kaname-senpai, Mochu, and Iinchou." Koko answered, "We're here to help!" He explained.

"We think you have something really good going on here." Kaname smiled.

"Yeah, we're going to make this the best day of your life!" Tsubasa grinned.

"Thanks but no thanks. Can you just go home?" Natsume grunted.

"Sure... but just know that while we're sitting home alone, we COULD be here assisting you like the perfect non-biological brothers you've never had." Koko shrugged.

"That condescending shit doesn't work on me, Koko." Natsume crossed his arms.

"Damn. But that condescending shit worked on Kaname-senpai..." He muttered.

"Hey!" Kaname shouted.

"Everyone, shut up. Sakura-san is looking this way!" Mochu panicked and they all crowded behind several trash cans.

"Wait. Why am I hiding? I'm _supposed_ to be out there." Natsume's lips thinned in a straight line and stood up.

"You better go back now. She's is at the front of the line," Yuu said.

"Just keep out of trouble." Natsume warned them as he headed back to Mikan.

* * *

"Do you need me to hold your hand, Natsume?" Mikan asked nervously as they were buckled securely into their seats.

"No." Natsume answered, "But it looks like you need it more than me." He watched Mikan shake in her seat and grasped her hand gently. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. Honestly, it looked more like Mikan's first time on a rollercoaster rather than Natsume's.

Mikan smiled at him for half a second before they launched straight across the tracks into screams.

"Thanks for holding my hand, Natsume." Mikan said as she inwardly blushed at the thought while they got off the car.

"Sure," Natsume said while he helped Mikan try to stand up properly.

"How did you manage to keep such a rock solid poker face on the entire time?" Mikan threw her hands up exasperated.

Natsume tried to stifle a laugh while he stared at the photograph that was taken. "You look like you're trying to give birth."

"Shut up," Mikan scowled. "I did say I would buy the photo to commerate your first time though."

Natsume gave her a tiny smile. "I'll buy one too."

The rest of the day went with Koko and the crew popping up behind Natsume every so often chanting "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" and then making kissy faces behind his back.

* * *

"This is the last one and then the day can end happily!" Mikan chirped as they stood in line for the Ferris wheel.

Natsume nodded his head. "Are you thirsty?" He asked.

"Just a little." Mikan responded.

"Wait here. I'll buy you something to drink." He walked away to a food stand and asked the man there for a bottle of iced tea.

The man suddenly grabbed Natsume by the shoulders and grinned from ear to ear.

"What the hell?" Natsume furrowed his brows and tried to push the man's face away from him.

"Ow, ow, ow! Chill! It's Koko!" The man whined.

Natsume groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you and the guys to go home?"

Several guys with aprons and goofy mustaches popped up. "Hey Natsume," They said all together.

"Now listen to me," Koko grabbed Natsume by the shoulders again. "Now is the perfect opportunity to tell her. It's sunset and you'll be on a Ferris wheel at the top. I don't care how you do it but you should know by now that you won't move forward unless you do something."

"You're being dramatic." Natsume replied, face as stoic as ever. But somewhere there, Natsume knew Koko wasn't wrong.

"He's right, Hyuuga-san. If you don't ask, the answer will always be no." Yuu peeled off his mustache in irritation of its itching.

"Yeah. You don't want to remember Mikan-chan as the one that got away." Kaname smiled.

"You can smack us all you want but don't let telling her slip away, man!" Mochu grinned.

"I second all of what these dunces just said. Now take this bottle of ice tea and go kiss the shit out of her!" Tsubasa patted Natsume's back.

Natsume stared at each of their encouraging faces. "You guys really are like my non-biological brothers," He smirked.

"Save the bromance for later! Go now or else we'll wallop you for screwing up!" Koko grinned.

* * *

"Do you need me to hold your hand?" Natsume teased as they stepped into their gondola.

"I think I can handle a Ferris wheel." Mikan laughed and then paused to smile at him, "I had a good time, Natsume."

"Not the best day of your life?" Natsume smirked.

"The best day of my life hasn't happened yet. But I see it and I know what's going to happen it! I'm going to meet my soulmate, we'll get married, and have a happy family with all our close friends!" Mikan beamed.

"That sounds nice," Natsume genuinely smiled at that.

Mikan nodded and they both looked out the window. The orange and pink lit sun was half down at the skyline and looked like it was slowly but surely sinking into the lake that was next to the amusement park.

"It's beautiful." Mikan gushed.

"Yeah. It is," Natsume hesitated and remembered the words of his companions. "You're beautiful, too."

Mikan looked up at Natsume and blushed. Natsume stared back at her and gave her a knowing grin.

"Hey Mikan," He asked. "How do cure a love sickness?"

Mikan's eyes widened, "Natsume?"

And at the very moment, Natsume chose to do it.

He kissed her.

Natsume's self-promise to never fall in love gave way for something else. The promise to keep the sweet brunette: Mikan Sakura.

"How do you cure a love sickness?" Natsume repeated with a smirk.

Mikan laughed ⎯ still blushing with pink coated cheeks ⎯ and hugged Natsume.

"You don't." She answered with a smile.

* * *

The best day of both Mikan's and Natsume's lives had soon come true after Alice College had ended.

* * *

**End of Part 3  
**_and the end of Curing Love Sickness_

* * *

I know I probably failed to show the development in Mikan's feelings for Natsume D:

Luckily the floor is open for your own imagination because I made the part about the rest of the day before the Ferris wheel brief! xD

Thanks again for reading and for all the reviews/faves/alerts!


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